Ownership Verified: Mein Freude am Fahren (E36 328i Touring)

Since the Benz has been hospitalized in the past period (will post in its own thread once I get it back), the BMW has seen quite a bit more action than I would have liked it to see, so this ticked over yesterday, at least 6 months earlier than I had hoped.

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Another small job tackled. The inside of the glovebox lid had a few cracks around the latch, so I decided to epoxy both halves back together. It seems to have worked, although I won't be able to truly tell until I've driven it properly. Pics of process (crack is visible in first pic between the bottom 2 blue clothespins):
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My glove box latch decided to stop staying latched yesterday, so I have to lock it so it stays closed now. Silly old cars :D
 
It's been a while since an update, mostly because there's been very little to update about in the past couple months. It's seen a lot more action than I would've liked it to see, and the Merc ate all the budget I had for upgrades and then some, so I'm very glad to report the BMW hasn't given me any nasty surprises. Apart from the battery finally giving up, there's been very little to report. The car still goes and handles very well, although the grip of the Nokian front tyres leaves a lot to be desired, especially compared to the quite excellent RE050 rear tyres.

Bonus: A few action shots, courtesy of DaBoom:
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And a nice Aerial shot courtesy of Ice:
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Some journalist guy wrote an article about it on a website.

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And to break the silence in this thread, in the mean time some updates have happened to the car. In may, the rusty sills and a rusty spot on the passenger side front strut tower were attacked with a welding gun. About 5 meters of fresh steel were welded in, and the end result was sprayed in the typical flat black rustrproofing. Later, in July, a couple weeks before the MOT was due, I brought it in for a service, and had some other stuff done. Front wishbone rubbers were replaced with M-sport ones, tie rod ends were replaced, engine got a full service, an exhaust clamp received some welding, the car received fresh rear rubber, and some other miscellaneous stuff was done. I initially wanted to do most of it myself, but was unable to make time for it. Currently the car drives like a dream again. The overhauled front end makes the rear end feel quite loose, so that is where I will focus my efforts next, and I have the feeling one of the bleed nipples on the rear brakes is leaking air, so I will tackle those rather sooner. The VANOS is also definitely on its way out, so that's another part that will receive some attention.
 
me =
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E30 is even smaller :)

I can believe that. I've just always considered all 3-series tourers to be "quite big" but now I see the difference :) I believe the F30 is the first somewhat big 3-series?
 
Wow, the E36 really is small!

It's even funnier when seen from the front, a 206SW dwarfs it when standing next to it. Almost all other wagons on the road are higher than it. Except the E30 Touring.

E30 is even smaller :)

Yeah, E30 touring is tiny.
 
It's only 7cm longer than my mom's Pug 307 (and smaller in every other dimension).

I guess new cars have become really huge.
 
Yep, even my E81, the "small BMW" is 5cm wider and 3cm higher than Adunaphels car :lol:
 
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So today this happened. Sadly it was not salvageable for a reasonable amount of money, so I am now freshly car-less. Time to decide what to get next. Job situation is a bit different from what it was 2 years ago when I got this.
 
Condolences, it was a cool car. I hope you will at some point get something with an interior as cool as this one. :)
 
Bugger. Sorry to hear that. I know you rather enjoyed hooning it around the local back roads. :hug:

MX5? :burnrubber:
 
Line for like replacement then I guess. You're still too young for Benzes.
 
I know. I'm just trying to reassure you that you are still young enough to fall outside their target demographic.

Hell, I'm still young enough to fall outside their target demographic.
 
NOOOOOOOOOOO!

I have an emotional attachment to this car. :cry:

Also, if only you could ship it to me...still worth a good 7000-8000EUR around here. :(
 
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